The move from Badr Hari into the world of boxing comes as no real surprise given his recent shift of the sport and the economic state of K-1. Hari has often expressed a desire to go into either Olympic or professional boxing and after a series of troubles - in and out of the ring – and for the timing of the move, is it right for him?

But before he moves from a sport that helped make him a super star across the globe he has decided to face Gokhan Saki another talented powerhouse in the world of Kickboxing - the last hurrah is set on January 28, 2012 against Saki will not be an easy one before heading of to United States to pursue a boxing career.

Hari's exceptional kickboxing career, though short, has been punctuated with knockouts and controversy. The Moroccan-Dutch heavyweight arrived on the kickboxing scene in 2005 with a brutal spinning back kick knockout of Stefan Leko in a K-1 World GP reserve bout, but a 2006 brawl at a press conference with Peter Graham and his refusal to leave the ring and subsequent destruction of backstage dressing rooms following a loss to Ruslan Karaev saw Hari's public perception turn from 'Golden Boy' into 'Bad Boy'.

After capturing the vacant K-1 heavyweight title, Hari made a run at the K-1 World GP in 2008, knocking out Peter Aerts and Errol Zimmerman before getting disqualified in the final against Remy Bonjasky for kicking and stomping his opponent while he was down. The unsportsmanlike act caused a large amount of controversy in K-1 and Hari was stripped of his heavyweight title, not awarded any prize money and not awarded the title of GP runner-up.

Rebounding from a shocking knockout loss to Alistair Overeem at Dynamite, Hari again made it to the final of the K-1 World GP in 2009 after defeating Ruslan Karaev and Alistair Overeem in a rematch, but fell to the much bigger Semmy Schilt.

Not learning from past mistakes Hari was again disqualified in 2010, this time while defending his It's Showtime heavyweight title against Hedsey Gerges. Like the Bonjasky fight, Hari again kicked a downed opponent and lost his title. Although he was initially unapologetic for his actions, Hari voluntarily took a one year break from the ring.

Hari has also had problems discipline outside of the ring, charged with assaulting a neighbor in 2006 and was wanted for questioning in 2010 in regards to a nightclub brawl that left a doorman with a fractured eye socket and broken nose.

Coincidentally Gokhan Saki, Hari's final opponent in the kickboxing ring and another top young stars in the sport, is also considering leaving kickboxing and has been publicly discussing a move to MMA for some time.